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PENNY

 - 7 dictionary results
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pen⋅ny

  [pen-ee] noun, plural pen⋅nies, (especially collectively for 2, 3) pence, adjective
Use PENNY in a Sentence
–noun
1. a bronze coin, the 100th part of the dollars of various nations, as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; one cent.
2. Also called new penny. a bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 100th part of a pound. Abbreviation: p
3. a former bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 12th part of a shilling: use phased out in 1971. Abbreviation: d.
4. a sum of money: He spent every penny he ever earned.
5. the length of a nail in terms of certain standard designations from twopenny to sixtypenny.
–adjective
6. Stock Exchange. of, pertaining to, or being penny stock: frenzied speculation in the penny market.
—Idioms
7. a bad penny, someone or something undesirable.
8. a pretty penny, Informal. a considerable sum of money: Their car must have cost them a pretty penny.
9. Chiefly British Slang. spend a penny, to urinate: from the former cost of using a public lavatory.
10. turn an honest penny, to earn one's living honestly; make money by fair means: He's never turned an honest penny in his life.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME peni, OE penig, pænig, pen(n)ing, pending, c. OFris penning, panning, OS, D penning, OHG pfenning, phantinc, phenting (G Pfennig), ON penningr (perh. < OE); < WGmc or Gmc *pandingaz, prob. equiv. to *pand- pawn 2 + *-ingaz -ing 3

Related forms:
pennied, adjective
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Pen⋅ny

  [pen-ee]
–noun
a female given name, form of Penelope.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To PENNY
pen·ny   (pěn'ē)   
n.   pl. pen·nies

  1. In the United States and Canada, the coin that is worth one cent.

  2. pl. pence (pěns)

    1. Abbr. p. A coin used in Great Britain since 1971, worth 1/100 of a pound. Also called new penny.

    2. Abbr. d. A coin formerly used in Great Britain, worth 1/12 of a shilling or 1/240 of a pound.

    3. A coin formerly used in the Republic of Ireland, worth 1/100 of a pound.

    4. A coin used in various dependent territories of the United Kingdom.

  3. Any of various coins of small denomination.

  4. A sum of money.

  5. One of a set of colored, usually sleeveless shirts worn as a temporary team uniform, as when scrimmaging.


[Middle English, an English coin, from Old English penig.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
penny

  1. n.
    a police officer. (A play on copper. See the note at copper.) : The penny over on the corner told the boys to get moving.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

penny 
O.E. pening, penig "penny," from P.Gmc. *panninggaz (cf. O.N. penningr, Swed. pänning, O.Fris. panning, M.Du. pennic, O.H.G. pfenning, Ger. Pfennig, not recorded in Goth., where skatts is used instead), of unknown origin. The English coin was originally set at one-twelfth of a shilling and was of silver, later copper, then bronze. There are two plural forms: pennies of individual coins, pence collectively. In translations it rendered various foreign coins of small denomination, esp. L. denarius, whence comes its abbreviation d. As Amer.Eng. colloquial for cent, it is recorded from 1889. Penniless "destitute" is attested from c.1310. Pennyweight is O.E. penega gewiht, originally the weight of a silver penny. Penny-a-liner "writer for a journal or newspaper" is attested from 1834. Penny dreadful "cheap and gory fiction" dates from c.1870. Phrase penny-wise and pound-foolish is recorded from 1607.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Bible Dictionary

Penny

(Gr. denarion), a silver coin of the value of about 7 1/2d. or 8d. of our present money. It is thus rendered in the New Testament, and is more frequently mentioned than any other coin (Matt. 18:28; 20:2, 9, 13; Mark 6:37; 14:5, etc.). It was the daily pay of a Roman soldier in the time of Christ. In the reign of Edward III. an English penny was a labourer's day's wages. This was the "tribute money" with reference to which our Lord said, "Whose image and superscription is this?" When they answered, "Caesar's," he replied, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:19; Mark 12:15).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

penny

In addition to the idioms beginning with penny, also see in for a penny, in for a pound; pinch pennies; pretty penny; turn up (like a bad penny).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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